ORIGINAL: Hossfly

BGR, that may well be true, however I rather term your definition as teaching a beginner to DRIVE the airplane rather than to FLY the airplane. In reality we all started "driving" the airplane rather than "flying" the airplane. A Driver is up with the airplane reacting to the airplane. A FLIER, a real pilot is already well ahead of the airplane and has planned what the airplane will do. A good instructor grooms that "being ahead" into his student. If an instructor is not yet there himself, then he cannot instill those traits into the student. Sure the student will make a few landings then be declared solo, yet he will not be really safe on the flight line among other pilots.
Every instructor needs a lot of time doing more than boring holes in the sky. He needs to challenge himself and be able to make landings in more ways than a rectangle pattern. No one has to be a 3D or Pattern or IMAC champion to be a great instructor. If they did then I would NOT be an instructor. When my student goes solo, he/she will be ahead of the airplane, know how to keep safe distances form other pilots on the flight line, how to set up a good approach and an engine-out pattern and have his total flight plan safely between his ears.
Even now I see experienced otherwise good pilots, er, uh, actually airplane drivers, that cannot make a right turn to final approach. Sad! The Instructor needs to get that problem fixed prior to saying, "You're soloed."

With all that said, everyone has to start somewhere and experience only comes with performance. Therefore my rants should not say anything other than do give as much as you can, just remember there is always more to learn, and then teach/instruct.